Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders drew swift backlash Wednesday when he bluntly declared that abortion is a “constitutional right” in the United States.

The Democratic presidential primary candidate’s statement — which was made via Twitter on Wednesday morning — came fast on the heels of several pieces of restrictive abortion legislation passing nationwide in recent weeks.

It had been less than 24 hours since the Alabama legislature passed — by a 25-6 margin — one of the most restrictive pieces of legislation on abortion in decades.

Controversial among legislators, the bill goes far beyond the recent “heartbeat bill” signed into law in Georgia just weeks ago, allowing exceptions only for possible “serious health risk to the unborn child’s mother.”

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It would also reportedly allow the prosecution of abortionists for up to 99 years in prison, according to Fox News.

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The Alabama legislation is largely viewed as an effort to bring challenge to Roe v. Wade in the Supreme Court under the new panel, which is deemed to lean more conservative as a result of President Donald Trump’s two appointments — Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch.

Pro-life personalities, and supporters of the bill, were quick to go after Sanders for his remark on Wednesday, rebuking both the language of his tweet and his unabashed support for unrestricted abortion.

Other responses took direct issue with Sanders’ interpretation of the Roe decision, claiming that the constitutional right to privacy provided in the 14th Amendment by the decision does not necessarily equate to a “constitutional right” to abortion.

“Nope. Right to Privacy has nothing to do with abortion any more than comitting some other immoral act or crime would be protected,” American comedian Jack Vale wrote.

Regardless of the backlash, however, Sanders doubled down as the day dragged on.

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Sanders returned to Twitter two more times in the next several hours, praising the Vermont state legislature for fighting for abortion access in the state.

The attack on women’s rights is happening in Alabama, Georgia and across the country, and we must fight it everywhere. I am proud that my state is fighting back—and I encourage all states to do the same to protect a woman’s right to choose. https://t.co/QnkMgDMz4j

Andrew J. Sciascia has been a news reporter with The Western Journal since 2019 and a regular contributor of opinion since 2018. An undergraduate student at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, Sciascia has also worked briefly as a political operative with the MassGOP and currently serves as the editor-in-chief of the Connector student newspaper.